Review: Wines of Famiglia Casadei, 2026 Releases
Judging strictly by the documentation furnished on its website, and there’s a good deal of it, Famiglia Casadei’s commitment to authentic wines and ethical products is legitimate and uncompromising. No one has to take this on faith: the timeline and receipts are right there. The family photo at the top of the Famiglia’s website puts…
Review: Booker’s Bourbon “Milkshake Batch” 2026-02 and “Southern Thunder Batch” 2026-03
We’re behind on new Booker’s releases, so we’re ganging up the latest pair of releases in this head-to-head look at two offerings, both landing at about the 7 1/2 year-old mark. Details on each (and an explanation of their names) follow alongside our reviews. Booker’s Bourbon “Milkshake Batch” 2026-02 Review Perhaps an obvious one: Booker…
Review: Wines of Larkmead, Autumn 2026 Releases
Larkmead sits on an unassuming stretch of Calistoga, at the end of a lane sharing its name, and has spent over a century being one of the more interesting places in Napa Valley without ever making a grand spectacle of it. This is unusual, and it’s a little suspicious: the region is thick with estates…
Review: Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Private Cask Collection Tequila Edition No. 2 Mole Cask (2026)
In 2023, Jose Cuervo released a special edition of its Reserva de la Familia Tequila called the Private Cask Collection. Edition No. 1 incorporated tequila aged in Colombian oak casks, a real rarity that, frankly, I’ve never heard done before. Three years later, Cuervo is finally back to this collection, finishing anejo tequila in mole…
Review: 2023 John Anthony Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
You may know John Anthony only from his low-cost brand, JaM Cellars — but Anthony also makes luxe, cellar-worthy wines that deserve more serious attention. Case in point: This newly released Napa cabernet. Almost archetypical in its construction, this 2023 cab bursts out of the gate with dense notes of currants and black cherries, tempered…
Review: Jefferson’s Reserve 8 Years Old
Big-ish things are happening over at Jefferson’s. The entire lineup has gotten a glow-up with bolder packaging featuring larger typeface. I never minded squinting to read my Jefferson’s labels, but I guess we bourbon drinkers are all getting older by the day. There’s also been some streamlining of offerings, with both the flagship rye and…
Review: MaraBela Sparkling Tea Wild Verbena
Packaged in a 750ml wine bottle with a Champagne style cork, you could be forgiven for assuming MaraBela was a new sparkling wine, albeit perhaps with a new age bent. It’s not, though, it’s tea: sparkling tea, specifically, designed as a non-alcoholic alternative to a traditional bottle of bubbly. Per the brand: MaraBela wasn’t created…
Review: Bulleit ’87
Blending bourbon and rye used to be a wild novelty, but now it’s surprisingly commonplace, perhaps due to the runaway success of High West’s Bourye, which has become an annually released, prized commodity among those in the know. The latest to jump into the blending game is Bulleit, whose new Bulleit ’87 is in some…
Review: 2024 Sankt Pauls Pinot Grigio Sudtirol Aldo Adige
Alto Adige pinot grigio (Santa Margherita generally excepted) offers the drinker the opportunity to experience this wine without the expected trappings that have become typical of today’s production. Rather than overtly fruity and vaguely sweet, Sankt Pauls’ expression is layered and quite dry, an exploration of terroir instead of the orchard. Crisp and mineral-driven on…
Review: Penelope Founders Reserve Bourbon 13, Conundrum Rye 12, and Cigar Sessions Chapter 2
There is more than one way to make a whiskey worth talking about. Time can transform a spirit as it interacts with oak over the course of years. Selecting and blending barrels can bring individual components together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. And sometimes, the goal is not simply to…
